New dinosaur insight from space age tests
CHUNKS of fragile rock containing a turkey-sized dinosaur that became extinct 200 million years ago have been sent halfway round the world for space age tests that will reveal how it ate, moved and breathed.
The ancient remains of two Heterodontosaurus were found in a rural Eastern Cape riverbed by Grahamstown palaeontologist Professor Billy de Klerk years after he was given a crude hand-drawn map by a friend who suspected the area was a fossil treasure trove.
De Klerk, who is emeritus curator at the Albany Museum, said yesterday the remains had been sent to France for five days of hi-tech testing that will help scientists answer questions that have perplexed them for years.
“The new research is very exciting, using cutting edge, very accurate, X-Ray technology that will enable us to produce 3D images of all skeletal parts and also the inner workings of the brain case [which is] still enclosed in rock.”
The plant-eating lizard was cut out of rock near Dordrecht by De Klerk and Rhodes University geology technician John Hepple using a map drawn up by author and former journalist Ben Maclennan.
“Ben sent me a report with a hand-drawn map indicating where there was a site that had a smattering of bones embedded in rock,” De Klerk said.
Although he often stopped with students near the site outside rural Rossouw to look at volcanic rock formations on the right side of the dirt road, he had never been a few metres to the left into the riverbed
Starting with a few exposed bones, the men cut out the rock and found a treasure trove including a second Heterodontosaurus 200 metres away.
Although he has been collecting fossils for decades, De Klerk said he still got excited whenever he made a find.
The chunks of hard rock were taken to the Albany Museum by De Klerk, who spent years meticulously cleaning the fragile bones by hand before sending them to Wits University for Computed Tomography (CT) scans.
More powerful than a hospital CT scanner, the hi-tech equipment gives scientists a better understanding of what is inside rocks they cannot remove.
Unfortunately, scientists were unable to get a clear picture as metallic substances in the rock showed up bright white, obscuring the finer details palaeontologists were hoping to find.
The bones of the peculiar-looking herbivore, that had grinding teeth in the back of the jaw and big canines in the front, were sent last week to the European Synchrotron in France as part of an ongoing collaboration with South African scientists.
A team of South African scientists travelled with the fossil.
The discovery is significant as it boosts the number of Heterodontosaurus discovered worldwide to just five and includes the second full skeleton of the species.
Maclennan, who gave up journalism to farm in Dordrecht, said yesterday the journey of the rare fossil from the rural Eastern Cape hinterland to France for testing was amazing.
“It is quite extraordinary how they can find the finest details deep inside the rock,” he said.
“I am thrilled that Heterodontosaurus is making the journey to France and is being investigated this way.”
Maclennan, who is chairman of the Dordrecht Museum committee, said they had a full resin cast of the skull which they would put on display with other local fossil finds.
‘ The new research is very exciting, using cutting edge, very accurate, X-Ray technology